Rep. Martin Is Bush Choice for Labor Secretary

President Bush tapped outgoing Rep. Lynn Martin of Illinois as his new secretary of labor Friday, rewarding her for party loyalty in giving up her safe Republican House seat at the urging of the White House to run an unsuccessful campaign last month against Democratic Sen. Paul Simon.

Martin, 51, who was caught off guard by the timing of the announcement, is a fiscal conservative who voted against the interests of organized labor during most of her 10 years in Congress.

Her nomination received a cool reception from Lane Kirkland, president of the AFL-CIO, who said that “her voting record has not reflected a sensitivity to the needs of workers.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Martin would become the Administration’s principal contact with major labor leaders. She would inherit a difficult-to-manage department whose functions include supervision of billions of dollars in pension funds and the enforcement of health and safety rules in the workplace.

The sharp-tongued lawmaker, known for her acerbic wit, was at her home in Loves Park, Ill., after being told there would be no action this week on the labor post. Her office said she had no prepared statement. Martin would replace Elizabeth Hanford Dole, who was the only woman in the Bush Cabinet until she resigned in October to head the American Red Cross.

Martin’s closest competitor for the labor post was believed to be another outgoing Republican congresswoman, Patricia Saiki of Hawaii, who had the strong support of Elizabeth Dole’s husband, Senate Republican leader Bob Dole of Kansas. White House sources said Bob Dole phoned John H. Sununu, Bush’s chief of staff, immediately after the Martin announcement to push Saiki for the vacant education secretary post.

Lauro F. Cavazos resigned the Education Department post earlier this week after his management skills were sharply criticized by Sununu. Saiki tried unsuccessfully last month--as did Martin--to defeat a Democratic incumbent senator.

Besides Saiki, other top candidates for education secretary include Lynne V. Cheney, chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and wife of Defense Secretary Dick Cheney; former New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean, now president of Drew University, and former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, president of the University of Tennessee.

Bush also is seeking to fill the post of Republican national chairman following this week’s announcement by former drug policy adviser William J. Bennett, the man he had selected for it, that he was declining the position because of ethical considerations arising from his intention to carry on a simultaneous speaking and writing career.

Martin, who favors legal abortions and supported the rejected equal rights amendment, is married to a federal judge in Chicago, Harry Leinenweber. She has two children by her first marriage to a Rockford, Ill., businessman. She has sponsored day-care projects and is a former high school economics and government teacher.

The President made the announcement on the White House lawn before departing by helicopter for a weekend at his Camp David retreat in the Maryland mountains.

Referring to Martin as “an outstanding member of Congress” who had served as “an unofficial adviser to me,” Bush added: “She’s a mother who knows the need for child care.” The President also commended her as “a professional” who understands the relationship between business and labor.

Martin helped prepare Bush in 1984 when, as vice president, he debated the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Geraldine A. Ferraro. She was a national co-chairman of his presidential campaign two years ago.

Martin made her Senate bid this year with the help of Roger Ailes, who served as Bush’s image-maker in the 1988 presidential campaign. Critics blamed Ailes for the bitterness of her attacks on Simon.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, said he looked forward to holding confirmation hearings for Martin early next year.

“The Department of Labor needs a strong secretary who is willing to stand up for hard-pressed families against the constant pro-business tilt of the White House,” Kennedy said.